Wife of Lejeune Marine dies in single car wreck

MILL CREEK – The wife of a Camp Lejeune Marine died Monday in a one-car wreck near their home in Carteret County.

Heather Ann Tipton, 29, 195 Point Road, Newport, was killed when the 2004 Hyundai sport utility vehicle she was driving ran off the road and hit a tree, said Trooper Victor Lee of the Highway Patrol office in Morehead City.

Tipton was traveling northeast on Mill Creek Road about two miles outside of Newport when the 9 a.m. wreck occurred. The SUV ran off the road to the right, overturned and struck a tree, Lee said.

Tipton is the wife of Sgt. Phillip Tipton, a Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune. Their one-year-old son was in the SUV with his mother but was not injured, the highway patrol said.

Lee said there was no indication at the wreck scene that Tipton had been speeding and it’s uncertain why the car went off the road.

“It being just before Thanksgiving makes it doubly tragic,” Lee said.

The infant was properly restrained in his car seat and Tipton was wearing her seat belt, Lee said.